From Anbu To Sensei
by Blue Eyes White Dragon 1988
Summary: Gekkou Ryuuji, an Anbu operative has uncovered the identity of Otogakure's leader. Under the Hokage's orders he now has to become a Jounin Sensei to remain unsuspicious. However, being a sensei is more than being a teacher, it means being a human again.
1. I'm going to be a Jounin Sensei?

From ANBU to Sensei

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other form of Media.

**Things to know before reading. **

**1.) How to read this fic. (No I'm not insulting your intelligence level. I'm just giving a template for easier reading.)  
**

Normal writing.

_"Character speaking."_

_Flashback -Start / Flashback -End_

**"Dramatic speaking" **(used for strong emotion, or a Bijuu/Summon talking.)

_**POV **_(point of view change notice, followed by the character's name.)

* * *

I slowly begin to open my eye's and take in the sights, sounds, and other sensations of waking awareness. I wince as the light coming in from my window stings my eyes, and I quickly reach for the circular sunglasses resting on the floor next to the futon my body is currently laying on.

_"OOaH."_ I groan in protest as I slowly rise from my futon. I take a quick look around my apartment in an attempt to locate clothing, and I notice my Anbu uniform in a disheveled state about three feet from where I'm standing. My Anbu uniform consists of a black pair of durable 'shinobi- style' cargo pants, an equally black short sleeve 'shinobi- style' shirt, black open toe combat sandals, faded gray body armor, a white porcelain-like mask shaped like a bird's head with various red designs to accentuate the bird like features, and a white hooded cloak to complete the ensemble that signifies me as an Anbu captain.

What is an Anbu you might ask? If you didn't know I wouldn't blame you. The reason being, were kinda secretive. Anbu stands for 'Ansatsu' 'Senjutsu' 'Tokushu' 'Butai'." Loosely translated that stands for Assassination, tactics, military force. We are a special sect of ninja who hide in the dark and either steal secrets, cover up secrets, or kill people in a secretive manner. As if 'normal' ninja's didn't do that already. What separates us from normal ninja's is the fact that once we are selected to undergo a mission it isn't going to bolster our village's economy, improve the reputation of our village, and 'especially' improve relations with other villages. No when we are are chosen to undergo a mission it is to either clean up our village's messes without our enemies finding out, or discover the messes of our enemies without them finding out, ....oh and of course to kill select individuals without our enemies finding out.

Today I'm being called into the Hokage's office for a 'special' mission. That could mean one of two things. A- I'm not coming back alive. Or B- if I do come back alive then I will a have a nice fat paycheck waiting for me, as well as a 'not so nice, fat nurse' threatening me with bodily harm if I try to break out of my ward early. (I never seem to get the skinny nurses, or the female ones for that matter.)

I quickly throw on my Anbu Garb and form a few hand-seals. Then I disappear in a cloud of white smoke. Yay shunshin-no jutsu.

I reappear inside a circular room, the Hokage's office. I see the Sandaime Hokage sitting behind his expensive looking desk made of an incredibly durable wood. How do I know this? Well that desk has been used by three other Hokage's since the founding of the village. In-fact just about everything in this room belonged to one Hokage or another from the framed pictures of Hokage's past, to the various other knick-knacks. Oh and of course there is a two foot stack of paperwork on the Hokage's desk.

_"The desk is impressive isn't it."_ The Hokage asked, distracting me from my musings.

_"Hai- Hokage-sama."_ I replied felling a little foolish.

The Hokage chuckled in amusement. I guess the Hokage's day doesn't get more 'exciting' than this. For the old guy's sake I guess that would be a good thing.

_"Gekkou Ryuuji I have called you in here based on the results of your last mission."_

This can't be good.

_"Based on the confidentiality seal you placed on your mission report I can assume what you wanted to tell me in person is of a sensitive nature."_

_"Hai- Hokage-sama. While I was infiltrating the new villiage Otogakure. I was compromised, however I was able to escape without being Identified."_

The Hokage produced a pipe from somewhere in his robes. _"What exactly did you find in that village."_ The Hokage then narrowed his eyes.

I nervously gulped knowing he wasn't going to like the answer. _"I was able to identify it's leader, i.. it's him, the leader of Otogakure is without a doubt Orochimaru of the Sannin."_

The Hokage sighed dejectedly. _"Are you sure it's him. You were only recently released from the hospital. Your memory could be off."_

I could tell that Hokage-sama was grasping at straws. I couldn't blame him. I fought Orochimaru myself and barely escaped with my life. As soon as I returned to the village I was escorted to the emergency ward of Konoha Hospital. _"I'm certain Hokage-sama, I used my sensor ability. I will never forget that chakra as long as I live." _

The Hokage produced a small bag of tobacco also from somewhere in his robes, and proceeded to light it in his pipe. _"Based on what you have just informed me of, you are no-longer going to be on active Anbu duty. I was originally going to have you go with Morino Ibiki to overlook the re-ratification of the Ame peace treaty before it is resigned. Now I will have to send someone else. I'm giving you a new mission, you are going to become a Jounin-sensei. This is the only way I can reasonably keep you in the village for a long period of time without potentially alerting one of Orochimaru's spies. Even though youre identity wasn't compromised, I can't run the risk of Orochimaru finding out what we know."  
_

If it weren't for my mask obscuring my facial features the Hokage would've seen my incredulous look. As soon as the Hokage gave me the hand wave of dismissal, I disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

I don't know what I have a harder time believing. Orochimaru having spies in Konoha, or me becoming a Jounin-sensei. I continue to mull it over as I take off any and all clothing related to anbu in favor of a more civilian attire. I stand in-front of my bathroom mirror and chuckle at the fact that I'm wearing cheap brown shorts and a cheaper black T-shirt. I brush a few locks of my long spiky brown hair out of my sunglasses covered eyes. To top of my crappy ensemble is a pair of old blue shinobi sandals. As you can tell I live a very spartan life when I'm not risking my neck for the village. Sad....yes I know. Rather than staying cooped up in my apartment I decide I'd rather roam the streets of Konoha, if only to clear my head. Not even a foot out the door and I hear.

_"Hey man were hitting the sake bar early today. Aoba finally mastered 'that' jutsu." _

I looked over to see my old friend Shiranui Genma approaching me. He still had the infamous chewable senbon needle supported by his teeth. One of these days I'm going to learn how he does that. For now I'll take the invitation to get drunk, and fret over the fact I'm gonna be a jounin-sensei. Gotta love alcohol right?

_

* * *

_

**Explanations**

**1.) This story will primarily be focused on my OC, who will not be mary-sued like so many rampant OC's are. **

**2.) I will keep this as close to cannon as I feel necessary, there will be changes. It's fan-fiction for a reason. **

**3.) This story will have plenty of action, but will also have a 'slice of life' feel to it. **

**4.) This is not a slash fic. That doesn't mean there might not be characters who prefer an alternative lifestyle. What it does mean is that all of, if not most pairings will be Heterosexual. There also won't be any 'harems'.**


	2. Meeting my old team

From ANBU to Sensei

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other form of Media.

**Things to know before reading. **

**1.) How to read this fic. (No I'm not insulting your intelligence level. I'm just giving a template for easier reading.)  
**

Normal writing.

_"Character speaking."_

_Flashback -Start / Flashback -End_

**"Dramatic speaking" **(used for strong emotion, or a Bijuu/Summon talking.)

_**POV **_(point of view change notice, followed by the character's name.)

* * *

Right now I'm standing in front of the ninja academy dressed in my old jounin uniform and wearing my circular sunglasses. As for the academy it's certainly an odd piece of architecture. The entrance is circular, but the rest of the academy is rectangular. The walls are white with red accents on the doors and roofing shingles. Last but not least over the doorway is the symbol of Konohagakure, a leaf with a spiral. _"I can barely remember the last time I was here." _

_"We were nine years old." _

I looked to my right and saw a woman with pitch black, wavy hair. She was about three inches shorter than me. She was wearing what appeared to be a really long white scarf draped over and around a red tunic-like ensemble. Her right arm had a red sleeve whereas the left arm was bare. Her most startling feature was her crimson eyes. _"You're right. It's been a while Kurenai." _I gave her an uneasy smile. Kurenai and I were on the same genin team, simply put there was history between us. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it we were never romantically involved.

_"Ryuuji you never struck me as the type of person to take on a team of genin." _

I shrugged my shoulders. It was easy to tell she was probing me to find out why I was here. _"Hokage-sama felt my talents were better suited teaching the next generation about espionage and survival. I disagreed, however I might as well do the job right otherwise I wouldn't be here scouting out possible genin for my squad."_ I hope Kurenai is satisfied with that explanation.

_"I had a similar idea. Why don't we go talk to Umino Iruka and ask if he can let us secretly observe his class." _

I nearly chuckled at Kurenai's suggestion. Seriously...when does a ninja need 'permission' to sneak around and spy on people?

* * *

Kurenai and I entered the academy building. The interior was nothing wholly remarkable. The walls were plain white, and the floors were your simple wooden floors. It didn't take us long until we reached Umino Iruka's classroom. The room was rather large, and had many rows on either side of the room facing a gigantic blackboard. Which made sense, considering that on any given day it could house over thirty ninja hopefuls for hours on end. At this moment the room had only one occupant. It was a man dressed in the standard Konoha outfit that many Chuunin and Jounin wear. His distinguishing features were his brown hair tied into a 'pineapple' style hairdo, and he also had a scar across the bridge of his nose. At the moment he was taking cursory glances at various papers behind his desk in front of the blackboard.

_"Iruka-dono would you mind if we observed the genin candidates today?" _Kurenai asked as she approached the desk getting his attention.

_"Not at all Yuhi-san...and you must be Gekkou Ryuuji." _

_"I take it Hokage-sama notified you of my recent reassignment." _I asked wondering how my name got passed around the 'Konoha grape vine' so quickly. While I'm not an untalented Shinobi by any means. I also don't have the same kind of reputation as shinobi like Maito Gai and 'the Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi.' In-fact I go to great lengths to be unnoticed at times.

_"You should know 'the Konoha grape vine' better than I do. Nothing stays secret for long in a ninja village unless it is well guarded." _

I could practically 'feel' Kurenai giggling behind me. Which was very out of character for her. Naturally I felt stupid for forgetting such an obvious fact about the 'grape vine.' _"Well we should probably get to observing those genin now." _I suggested while scratching the back of my head. Kurenai chuckled while Iruka sweatdropped.

_"The genin are out at the training grounds outside in the back." _Iruka said hiding an amused expression._  
_

As Kurenai and I were about to leave an idea popped into my head. I formed a cross shaped handseal. _"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." _I whispered and an exact replica of me appeared out of a cloud of smoke. Afterwards Kurenai and I exited the academy entrance and headed for the adjoining training grounds.

_

* * *

_

As we approached the training grounds I noticed Kurenai making handseals. Knowing her as I do, she was no doubt covering us in a genjutsu to hide our presence while we observed the genins. I nodded to her and we immediately jumped into the nearest tree that would enable us to get a Birdseye view of the training grounds. Being in a thick cluster of relatively tall trees, I was able to view the entire training grounds. There were several posts with either straw men, or large circles to use as a marker for target practice with any number of ninja tools, usually kunai and shuriken. There were also a few circular patches of ground, presumably some crude imitation of an arena for taijutsu lessons. Last but certainly not useful was a lone swing hanging from a tree near the academy entrance. As for the genin most of them were throwing things at the posts, one of them was sleeping...probably a Nara. The Chunin observing training was a silver haired man named Mizuki. He was looking on in disinterest until he saw the sleeping Nara and scowled. I chuckled at the sight.

_"What do you think of the Uchiha?"_ Kurenai asked temporarily breaking me from my musings. Pointing to a boy with a blue shirt bearing the Uchiha crest.

_"As far as throwing weapons at a stationary target goes. He's easily the best. I wouldn't be altogether surprised if he picked up that trait from Itachi." _

Kurenai looked a little uncomfortable. _"The fact that you can say his name so casually is disturbing." _

_"I was there that night remember?" _She nodded, and I continued._ "While I was able to save a few clan members. I was powerless to stop Itachi. If Hokage-sama didn't send in reinforcements when I sent out the call for backup, then I wouldn't be here talking to you." _I wasn't aware I was grinding my teeth until I accidentally bit my tongue. It goes without saying...'that night' is a sore subject for me. _"The tall genin in the long coat with the spiky hair and sunglasses has potential. He looks like he could be an Aburame. I've worked with members of that clan on many occasions." _I said changing the subject. Then I remembered my old Anbu Captain Aburame Shikuro. He had a nasty Jutsu that involved microscopic insects that could devour chakra at the cellular level. It was Horrifying to witness.

Kurenai took a calculating glance at the boy in question. _"He's an Aburame. I've worked with them before as well." _

Kurenai and I continued to observe and evaluate the plethora of genin. Many of them were from prominent clans. My instincts were telling me that Hokage-sama is using the current peace we are currently enjoying to full effect based on the fact that none of the genin were younger than twelve. Simply put, the academy had a change in staff, education, and the genin themselves have had more time to spend with their families and learn their clan techniques. However one genin in particular caught my attention more than any others.

_"Is that really Hyuuga Hinata?" _I asked pointing to a girl wearing a white long sleeve coat with a tear drop symbol on the back. She had raven colored hair and the famed 'pupiless' eyes as the rest of her clan. Many people mistake the Hyuuga eyes as pupiless. Seriously if somebody were without pupils they wouldn't be able to take in light and see._  
_

Kurenai nodded solemnly. _"Yes. I used to escort her to the academy. Her childhood has been difficult, and not just because of that event." _

The event Kurenai is referring to is the reason I joined the Anbu. Ten years ago a masked ninja had kidnapped the heiress to hyuuga clan using the peace treaty as a cover. The heiress was Hinata and her father Hyuuga Hiashi was the clan leader. He killed the ninja, who turned out to be the head ninja of Kumogakure. Kumo demanded Hiashi's dead body as compensation for the loss of their head ninja. However any ninja worth their salt knew it was another attempt at obtaining the Hyuuga clan's kekkei genkai, the 'byakugan'. Yet we conceded to their demands in a way. Instead of Hiashi being handed over to Kumo. It was Hyuuga Hizashi from the lesser branch who was sent in his twin brother's place. Hizashi was the Jounin sensei for my team. Neither me Kurenai or our other teammate Sarutobi Asuma were the same after that.

Asuma couldn't stand the fact that his father the Hokage could give into such a ludicrous request, even if another war would've broke out otherwise. So Asuma decided to join the Twelve ninja guardians and use his skills to protect our countries Daimyo. Asuma wasn't seen back in the village until eight years later.

Kurenai became a chunnin instructor for the ninja academy. It wasn't until recently that Kurenai was promoted to Jounin.

As for me, I went into Anbu and never looked back. The only people I associated with afterward were my friends, and my sickly younger brother Hayate. Now that I'm out of Anbu I have a lot of catching up to do in the socializing department.

_"Ryuuji. Asuma and I have moved passed that. So should you." _Kurenai placed her right hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture.

I smiled. _"You're right." _It was then that I got a head rush. This head rush came in the form of memories of me having a lengthy conversation with Iruka. My Kage Bunshin must have dispelled itself. _"I just received my clone's memories. Iruka and I talked about the genin's personalities as well as some background information. If you want I could share this with you."_

_"Sure Asuma and I were going to have lunch later at his favorite barbecue restaurant. He's also going to be a jounin sensei." _

Both bits of information caught my interest. While I won't pry into Kurenai's potential love life, that doesn't mean I won't hassle her and Asuma about it when I confirm it. What kind of friend would I be if I just ignored such juicy blackmail. Naturally I hid any trace of my thoughts behind an expression of neutrality. _"I'll see you there." _I said before disappearing from the academy grounds in a swirl of leaves. I've said it before and I'll say it again, yay shunshin no jutsu.

* * *

I reappeared in front of a modest apartment complex. It was similar to most buildings in konoha, being that it was painted white with tan roof shingles at each level. What separated this building from most was the fact that it was newer than most apartment complexes. It was only a block away from the merchant district. The contractors had civilians in mind when they made the top level apartments slightly bigger than the lower level ones as an incentive to rent or buy them in favor of the more convenient lower level ones. My brother Hayate was smart when he bought his apartment on the top level. While a civilian would have to haul themselves up three flights of stairs, a ninja could make the leap to the top floor in a single bound. So to honor my brother's intellect I channeled a little chakra to my feet and leaped up to the top floor. As soon as I knocked on the dark red door to Hayate's apartment. I heard an angry feminine scream. _"Go fucking figure, I unintentionally interrupt my little bro's 'fun time' with his girlfriend."_ I snarl as I berate myself.

A minute later and the door creaks open revealing my brother clad only in a pair of blue boxers. Hayate and I share the same general facial features, height, and light skin. That's where the similarities end. In contrast My hair is medium length dark brown, and spiky. Hayate's hair is light brown, down to his shoulders and flat. While we both have light skin, mine is pale. Hayate is sallow skinned as though he were perpetually sick, which he usually is. Aside from our differing states of dress, our eyes make the final difference. I keep mine hidden behind a pair of circular sunglasses. Hayate's eyes are small and grayish black. He also had bags under them.

_"Ryuuji you are (cough) (cough) an asshole."_

I nervously scratched the back of my head with my left hand. _"Sorry bro. How was I supposed to know Yugao was with you." _

Hayate smirked. _"I was (cough) just kidding. Yugao has been (cough) (cough) wanting to spend some time with me since she (cough) (cough) (cough) returned from her mission."_

_"Hayate-kun have you ever told Ryuuji-sempai he has awful timing." _Said a woman wearing a purple nightgown of some sort. She was at least five and a half feet tall. Her hair was a rich purple and passed her shoulder blades. Her skin was pale pink in color. Her eyes were dark brown and glaring at me. Despite how beautiful she may be, I knew her to be a top notch Kunoichi. I was responsible for her training in Anbu after all. Simply put if I was smart I wouldn't stammer out an awkward apology like most guys would do. If I was smart I'd keep my mouth closed and leave quickly.

_"All I wanted to do was catch up with Hayate before I meet with the other jounin instructors, so I'll be leaving now." _As you can see I went halfsies on this one. I quickly shunshin'ed away before I made the situation anymore awkward.

* * *

I reappeared in front of a slightly time weathered building. It was a barbecue restaurant renown for it's high quality, yet affordable beef. I would know seeing as Asuma discovered this place years ago, and I have been a semi-frequent customer ever-since. I stepped inside and as if led by a compulsion jutsu. I ignored my immediate surroundings. I knew the place well enough that I already knew that Kurenai and Asuma would be sitting close to a window with plenty of light shining through. Sure enough I found the table and Kurenai was sitting in our familiar booth. It was window side, and the last booth in it's row. Kurenai was sitting on the side with her back to the wall.

_"Took you long enough. Asuma already placed our orders and went to pick them up." _

I sat down opposite kurenai knowing Asuma would likely be sitting next to her anyway. _"I stopped by my brother's apartment for a short visit. I didn't think you would be here this early." _

Kurenai sighed. _"For the past two years Asuma and I have been coming here an hour earlier than we usually did when we were a team." _

I nodded knowingly. While Kurenai and Asuma did get over sensei's death, that doesn't make the nostalgia of sitting at our booth at our usual time any less painful. I probably should have taken that into account.

_"Foods here." _Said a man a little over six feet tall, looking in Kurenai's direction. He was wearing the same jounin uniform I was except he had a sash around his waist with the emblem of the twelve ninja guardians. Appearance wise he had a darker complexion than either Kurenai or myself, and his hair was darker than mine yet lighter than Kurenai's. He also had a short, thick beard on his face. His most defining feature were his unique brown eyes marking him as a Sarutobi. _"And apparently so is our wayward teammate_._" _He said finally looking at me while carrying a tray filled with the famous high quality beef and various vegetables. He quickly set the meat and vegetables down on the grill that was set into the table in our booth and narrowed his eyes.

I narrowed my eyebrows in return. _"Says the squirrely bastard who joined the league of runaway ninjas." _

Asuma snarled. _"That's the twelve ninja guardians you conformist government voyeur."_ You could practically see lightning arching from my shades to his eyes.

Kurenai sighed. _"Not even two seconds pass and you two resort to acting like genin."_

Asuma and I looked at kurenai and we both burst out laughing. Even Kurenai eventually joined in on the laugh. I was the first to recover. Asuma sat down next to Kurenai after that.

_"Look at us. Here we all are about to become jounin sensei's."_ I said wistfully.

Asuma and Kurenai became slightly pensive. Asuma looked towards me.

_"Kurenai told me that you had a clone talk with Iruka about the genin. Feel like sharing the goods?"_

I smirked. _"Who should I speak about first?" _

_"Nara Shikamaru." _Asuma said at once earning a raised eye from Kurenai. I shrugged and continued.

_"He's the son of Nara Shikaku from the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho team. Iruka and I suspect that Hokage-sama wants to recreate that old combination since Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chouza both have children the same age and in the same class no less. As for Shikamaru himself, Iruka told me his grades aren't anything to write home about. Yet some of the questions in class he actually felt like answering were more detailed than some mission reports that have been submitted by various chunin. Iruka would know seeing as he has assisted the Hokage with administrative work from time to time."_

Asuma had a thoughtful look on his face. _"I thought as much. One time when I substituted for Mizuki I noticed Shikamaru sleeping in class. I threw an eraser at his head and woke him up. He took a quick look at the board I was writing on. I was showing the class how to angle Kunai trajectory using a formula I learned. I swear to you the kid studied it for a second before becoming disinterested and falling asleep again. Normally I would write it off as typical academy student boredom, if it weren't for the look of concentration on his face before he fell asleep." _

I contemplated what Asuma said for a second. _"It is possible that Shikamaru inherited his father's intellectual prowess as well as his inherent laziness." _

Asuma seemed to agree with my assessment.

_"What about Haruno Sakura. All I know about her is that she has the highest grades in the class, and an aptitude for genjutsu." _

I looked towards Kurenai and began recalling information about the academy student in question. _"She comes from a civilian family. As such Iruka believes that she studies hard to not be shown up by the clan children, as well as trying to impress the number one rookie Uchiha Sasuke. Beyond that there really isn't much more I could tell you."_

Kurenai pondered what I said before I continued the line of questioning. We continued discussing what I learned from Iruka until I mentioned the name of a peculiar genin candidate.

_"What do you two think of Uzumaki Naruto?" _

Kurenai was the one to voice her opinion. _"He was barely able to hit the stump with his kunai, and from what Iruka said to you his grades are worse than Shikamaru's. What interest do you have in him?" _

Asuma didn't say anything, however the look on his face says that he agreed with Kurenai. While I knew that neither of them had any ill will towards the nine tails container. I wondered how they could miss the obvious.

_"True the kid can't hit a target accurately for squat. However he also didn't tire out from hours of physical training. Don't forget that he doesn't come from a major or even minor clan. He's had nobody to train him one on one. Whatever he knows, he learned himself, similar to the Haruno girl. I think the kid has potential." _

We sat in silence thinking of the possible teams we could lead until Asuma pointed out that our food was ready. We were about to load our plates when a familiar chunin entered the restaraunt winded and nearl out of breath.

_"Has (pant) anyone seen Uzumaki (pant) Naruto (pant). He broke out of class.." _Then he saw us in our booth and advanced towards us. We recognized him immediately. It was Iruka.

_"Iruka why don't you sit down and explain the situation to us?" _I said to him wondering exactly what was going on even though I already had the general idea.

For a second he contemplated running back outside the restaurant, but instead he took a seat next to me. Asuma used the opportunity to pile the choice pieces of beef onto his plate with his chopsticks, Kurenai did the same with the vegetables, while I waited for Iruka to explain the situation.

_"I was teaching the class about the finer points of 'Bunshin no jutsu' when I decided to exist the room and come back in with a clone. I was going to have the class try and identify which was the real me. When I came back in Naruto was gone." _

Kurenai quitely took a bite of a vegetable, Asuma reached for a piece of beef, while I kept my focus on Iruka.

_"What did he do next, I doubt he broke out of class just because of his hatred of the bunshin jutsu." _

Iruka's face turned flush with anger. **_"HE SNEAKED OUT TO PAINT ON THE HOKAGE MONUMENT." _**Iruka practically bellowed.

Our reactions were mixed upon hearing that. Asuma was silent and couldn't move. His chopsticks slipped and dropped a piece of beef that was on it's way to his mouth. Kurenai began coughing trying not to choke on a piece of broccoli. I promptly covered my mouth with my left hand and clenched my stomach with my right, and began quivering in place. Asuma snapped out of his daze.

_"Iruka think about where Naruto will go next. Try to predict his next move." _

Iruka must have taken Asuma's advice seeing as he immediately exited the restaurant. I tried to get up but only succeeded in falling out of the booth howling with obnoxious laughter. For what felt like five minutes I couldn't breath. It had been years since someone did something that utterly ridiculous. That last person to deface public property was Uchiha Obito. He threw toilet paper all over the Hokage's office. I laughed my head off then as well.

_"Ryuuji get a hold of yourself. It wasn't that funny." _Kurenai reprimanded me tartly.

I gathered what was left of my wits and sat back in the booth occasionally chuckling. I fished around my wallet and dropped my share of the bill down. _"Your right 'hearing' about it isn't that funny. Which is why I'm going out there to 'see' it." _I exited the restaurant and headed towards the Hokage monument.

* * *

_**POV- **_(Asuma)

After Ryuuji hastly exited the restaraunt I looked over to see Kurenai with an angry scowl on her face. As a precaution I scooted over a little. _"It was kind of funny, you have to admit." _

Kurenai's scowl lessened. _"True, but that doesn't change the fact that Ryuuji can act like a child sometimes."_

I sighed before a thought occurred to me that would calm Kurenai down. _"You know because Ryuuji never ate anything, we have his share of the food, and he over paid." _

Kurenai smirked. _"Your right Asuma, lets enjoy this rare opportunity on his expense and order something fancier."_

I took that as my cue at sat in Ryuuji's former seat across from Kurenai. From this vantage point I could observe her more desirable features unimpeded. Ryuuji didn't know what he was missing to say the least. Shortly after that a waiter came buy and we ordered some expensive imported sake. I lifted my sake saucer for a toast. _"To our obnoxious former teammate." _Who turned this luncheon into a date.

Kurenai mirrored my gesture. _"To the baka who left too much money at our disposal." _

We ate in quiet contentment after that.

* * *

**Explanations **

**1.) Next chapter will be the formation of the teams.**

**2.) No Kakashi will not be a sensei in this fic. He will still have an important role to play.**

**3.) The teams will be similar to canon, there will be a switch however. **

**4.) I have a valid reason for keeping some Uchiha's alive. I will not tell you why at this time.**

**5.) As evidenced by this chapter the point of view will occasionally switch from Ryuuji to other characters.  
**


	3. Foxes, Dolphins, and Crows? OH MY!

From ANBU to Sensei

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other form of Media.

**Things to know before reading. **

**1.) How to read this fic. (No I'm not insulting your intelligence level. I'm just giving a template for easier reading.)  
**

Normal writing.

_"Character speaking."_

_Flashback -Start / Flashback -End_

**"Dramatic speaking" **(used for strong emotion, or a Bijuu/Summon talking.)

_**POV **_(point of view change notice, followed by the character's name.)

* * *

(knock) (Knock) (knock). I awaken to the sound of somebody knocking on my apartment door. I quickly throw on the uniform I was wearing earlier today when I was out with Kurenai and Asuma at the barbecue restaurant. Then I remembered why I left early. I looked to my left and saw the disposable camera I used to take pictures of the Hoakge monument the Uzumaki kid had pranked. I put on my shades and chuckled as I opened the door. The out of breath chunin in front of me wasn't nearly as amused as I was. He looked to be in his early to mid thirties and was sporting an eye patch over his left eye.

_"Who might you be?" _I asked him in a business like tone.

_"I'm Akame Iwana. The Uzumaki brat stole the Forbidden Scroll. The Hokage wants 'you' specifically to find him." _

I could tell by his tone that he wasn't a fan of Konoha's resident jinchuuriki. If it weren't for Hokage-sama's law I bet Akame-yaro would've used a different word other than 'brat' to describe Uzumaki. Me personally I have nothing against demon containers_. _Over the course of my shinobi career I have bore witness to how several jinchuuriki were treated by their villages. I've seen war criminals and prisoners of war treated with more respect than jinchuuriki. The look in someones eyes when they reject a persons very existence could freeze an active volcano. Which is why I have no intention of letting the 'search party' get to Uzumaki before I do.

_"I'll send word to Hokage-sama when I find Uzumaki. Don't send any mobs out just yet." _

Akame nodded before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

I closed my door behind me and leaped on top of the roof to my apartment. My apartment being somewhat close to the center of the village gave me a pretty good view of the village as a whole. Fortunately I live near the hospital, unfortunately I hate hospitals so it's a sobering sight to look at. I turned so I was facing the Hokage monument, where a forest lays above it and stretches for miles. Simply put, If I were trying to elude pursuers I wouldn't do it in Konoha proper. So I bit my thumb and wiped some blood across my palms. After a few handseals I slammed my bloodied left palm on the ground. _"Kuchiyose: Kokoro no-jutsu." _After uttering the words of my technique, a wagon sized cloud of smoke erupted around me. The smoke began to disperse and take the shape of a murder of crows. I sat down in a meditative pose, closing my eyes from behind my shades, and strung together another set of handseals. _"Goukan Renkei no-jutsu." _My senses were replaced with several versions of what the crows were sensing. I chose to focus on the sensations of the crow in front of the murder. With a simple mental command the crows took to the night sky in the direction of the forest beyond the Hokage monument.

Normally a summoning jutsu acts as a bridge from the summon realm to ours, in theory anyway. From my extensive study of the 'Kage Bunshin no-jutsu' I learned how to create 'clone' bodies for the conciseness of my crows using the leftover chakra from the summoning smoke. The advantage to this type of summoning is that I can link my senses to multiple crows and switch between which crow I'm focusing on due to the fact that they are created from my own chakra. It's similar to how a 'kage bunshin' sends memories back to it's creator, only it's happening in real time. This combo jutsu is one of the reasons I became a Captain of an Anbu reconnaissance unit. The other reason being the crows themselves.

Think about for a second, crows are 'everywhere'. So it's not out of place to see them flying around big cities, rural areas, and especially scenes of battle. Crows are scavengers which makes them useful for disposing of bodies in undetectable ways. Nobody would think twice about seeing a crow on a battlefield, they would probably be under the impression that the crow was there for a quick meal. The real weakness to my combo jutsu is that I have to be stationary and focused to sense what the crows are sensing.

I just hope that I find Uzumaki before the antsy chunin patrol does.

_

* * *

_

**POV - **(Iruka) **  
**

_" Naruto why did you do it?" _I said to myself as I jumped from rooftop to rooftop searching for my wayward student. Then it occurred to me that Naruto wouldn't be in the village proper. If he was he would have been found by somebody by now, after all I was the one who brought him back to the classroom earlier in time for the final exam. So I redoubled my efforts and took long chakra fueled leaps towards the forest beyond the Hokage monument. It wasn't until twenty minutes into my search of the dense forest that I saw signs of human movement. So I landed on a thick tree branch that had a few snapped twigs and footprints. I committed the prints to memory and jumped to the next tree directly ahead of me. Sure enough, there were more snapped twigs and footprints.

_"Iruka is that you?" _

I looked around for the source of the voice. It sounded just like Ryuuji, and it seemed to come from above me. I looked up and sure enough a lone crow descended from the sky and perched on a stable twig next to my left shoulder.

_"I take it you found a trail." _The 'crow' said to me with it's beak wide open as though it were a loudspeaker.

_"Is this some sort of 'Henge no-jutsu'?" _I asked as I stared at the little bird intently.

_"No. It's a special type of summon I'm talking through. Various species of bird can mimic human voices, I'll tell you more about it later." _

I snapped out of my transfixed stupor. _"Right. I found Naruto's trail. What are you going to do?" _

_"I'm going to have this crow follow you from the sky silently, while I send another crow to the Hokage. I want you to be on the lookout for the traitor who put the idea of stealing the Forbidden Scroll into Naruto's head." _

_"What?" _I asked not believing what I'm hearing.

_"Think about it Iruka. I highly doubt **'Knowledge of Konoha's Secret Scrolls, and How to Steal Them'** is on the Ninja Academy curriculum. I riddled it out not to long ago, just before my 'eye in the sky' found you." _

I mentally started kicking myself for not figuring it out myself. _"Do you know who it is?" _

_"Probably someone who is affiliated with the academy. The academy is right next to the Hokage Tower where the scroll was taken, and Uzumaki makes a convenient scapegoat seeing as he is known for pulling 'off the wall' pranks. An academy affiliate would be within close proximity to the scroll, and would know Uzumaki well enough to convince him to steal it."_

I thought over Ryuuji's reasoning and only one person matches that description. _"It's Mizuki. __I'm going to continue the search now." _

The crow nodded before taking to the skies above me.

_"Naruto please be safe. I'm on my way." _I said to myself as I continued my pace of following Naruto's trail.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Ryuuji)

_"Ryuuji I want you to stop Mizuki at 'all costs.' You have permission to use lethal force if necessary. The Scroll of Sealing 'cannot' fall into his hands." _Hokage-sama said to the crow, in front of his scrying ball.

_"Hai. Hokage-sama." _I said to him through my crow before it dispelled itself. Afterwards I focused my attention on the crow following Iruka since it had been over ten minutes since I contacted him.

From what I could see through my crow. Iruka was pinned to the wall of a shed. A short distance from him was a boy roughly four feet tall. He had bright, blonde hair, spiked in every direction over a pair of green goggles. He was wearing a strange orange jumpsuit with blue accents. The boy was wide eyed in shock, and desperately clinging to the forbidden scroll as though it were a lifeline. Mizuki was standing on a tree branch looking over them.

_"Naruto haven't you ever wanted to know why everybody in the village hates you?"_ Mizuki asked, looking directly at the terrified blonde.

Iruka glared at Mizuki. _"Mizuki don't say it." _

It was all I needed to see. Mizuki clearly intended on breaking Hokage-sama's law, and killing fellow Konoha nins. So I formed a handseal and forcefully dispelled the crow watching the scene, sending it's memories to the rest of the murder. Then I divided my focus amongst the remainder of the crows, and gave them the command to congregate near the location of the crow I just dispelled. While waiting for my crows to reach their destination, I temporarily disconnected my senses from the crows and headed back into my apartment. It didn't take me long to find my custom made zatoichi. It was hidden next to my futon, underneath a loose floorboard. I quickly retrieved it from it's hiding place, and slung it over my right shoulder and fastened it in place with the strap. If it weren't for the strap I added to it, it could be mistaken for a walking stick.

_"Now all I can do is wait." _I said to nobody in particular as I crouched down on my right knee. I formed a few handseals and closed my eyes, then I reestablished contact with my crows senses. That was when I saw Mizuki preparing to launch a giant fuma shuriken at Uzumaki. I quickly formed a different set of handseals, this sequence being longer than my previous jutsu. _"Kuchiyose: Kuro-Shunshin." _I felt the sensation of feathers swirling around me before I disappeared from my apartment.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Iruka)

Just as Mizuki was about to launch his giant shuriken he pulled back at the last second. I wondered why until I heard a strange 'cawing' sound coming from a murder of crows circling overhead. The crows suddenly started circling their way towards the ground building up speed until all I could see in front of me was a miniature black tornado. The tornado slowly dissipated in place, revealing the silhouette of a man. The silhouette took the shape of Gekkou Ryuuji, and all that was left of the tornado was a small cascade of feathers, which were carried away by a small breeze.

_"Who the fuck are you." _Mizuki practically snarled at Ryuuji.

Ryuuji grasped the top of what appeared to be a solid black walking stick that was strapped to his back. _"I am your sentence. Your death sentence, as decreed by the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen." _

I shivered at the utter lack of emotion in Ryuuji's voice. While I couldn't see his facial features, he sounded like he wasn't joking. Mizuki thought the same.

_"Naruto is the one who stole the scroll...See he has it on his back right now." _Mizuki said pointing at Naruto.

Ryuuji turned around, his expression neutral. Until he gave Naruto and I a brief reassuring smirk. _"Iruka get Uzumaki out of here. The scroll is secure and Hokage-sama knows he's innocent." _Despite the goofy smirk he gave us, he kept his tone deadly serious._  
_

That's when I saw it. Mizuki had launched his shuriken directly at Ryuuji's back. Before I could even shout out a warning, Ryuuji drew a straight bladed sword out of what I now knew to be a sheath on his back. He spun around to his right with blinding speed, and he made an upwards diagonal slash with his blade. It cut clean through the giant shuriken like scissors to paper, and sent the two halves careening off in different directions to the side of him.

_"I was hoping you would do that." _Ryuuji said very smugly.

Mizuki fell out his tree in shock, and began backing away. _"H..HH..How did you." _

Ryuuji scoffed. _"Like I'm going to tell you how I do anything." _Then Ryuuji's gaze fell on Naruto. _"Hey Uzumaki. You up for beating the crap out of the loser who ruined your day. He did try to kill you, and Iruka-sensei." _

I looked over at Naruto and noticed the feral smirk on his face. Mizuki stood up and laughed.

_"I may not have anymore shuriken. But I can still kill the Kyuubi brat in one shot." _

Naruto responded by crossing his fingers in a weird pattern. _"Just try it. I'll return it a thousand fold. **'Tajuu Kagebunshin no-jutsu'.**" _

I looked on in shock as the clearing went up in smoke. Once the smoke disappeared, you couldn't look two feet in any direction without seeing several dozen naruto's in every tree, bush, or previously empty space grinning like a maniac. Then they descended on Mizuki and proceeded to bludgeon him several hundred times over.

_"Those aren't illusions. They're real copies. Ryuuji how could you have known he could do that." _I looked over to see if he was seeing this too. I wasn't expecting his eyebrows to stretch over his sunglasses and touch his hairline. Evidently he was as surprised as I was.

_"I had no freaking clue that Uzumaki could create any clones. Let alone an 'army' of the damn things. I figured he would pummel Mizuki street fighter style, while I made sure there wouldn't be any nasty surprises."_

I wondered exactly how he would do that. Then I noticed a crow in a tree devoid of Naruto's with it's beady eyes trained on Mizuki.

_"Ryuuji that crow saw the shuriken coming at you and somehow non-verbally signaled you, didn't it?"_

Ryuuji grinned while holding up the peace sign with his right hand. _"When the feathers from my jutsu blew away, they reformed into a crow outside of Mizuki's line of sight and kept a watchful eye on him." _

It was then that I noticed the silence of the clearing. Naruto approached us with a goofy grin plastered to his face. Twenty feet behind him Mizuki lay beaten, broken, and bloody, yet somehow alive. _"Guess I overdid it huh?" _Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. I was about to respond when I noticed Ryuuji sheathed his sword, and took a scroll out of one of the pockets on his jounin vest. Then he walked over to me and ran a finger over one of my injuries.

_"Ow. What was that for?" _I glared at him, while Naruto looked on in confusion.

_"Thanks for saving Iruka sensei, but what did he do to you?"_ Naruto asked not knowing whether to be mad or grateful.

Ryuuji ignored us both and opened the scroll smearing 'my' blood over one of the written kanji. There was a 'poof' of smoke and a bottle of what I recognized as soldier pills popped out._ "You already had blood on you so I figured 'why let it go to waste'?" _Then Ryuuji popped a pill in his mouth and formed a familiar set of handseals for a medical ninjutsu. Sure enough his hands glowed the familiar green for a medical technique. I was impressed, I didn't know he knew medical ninjutsu.

_"When on a solo mission, gathering intelligence in a foreign land. There isn't going to be anybody around to help you if you get hurt. Learning medical ninjutsu has easily been the wisest decision I've ever made."_ He said as began healing one of my injuries.

_"I understand that. But why carry scrolls that anybodies blood could open?"_ I was also tempted to ask him why he wears sunglasses at night.

_"If I'm with a team and I get injured or killed, then they will have access to my gear. If I'm by myself and I can't make a tactical retreat, then it really wont matter who has access to my gear when I'm dead, now will it? I suggest you be quiet, I'm good but I'm not a genuine medical ninja." _

I remained silent as Ryuuji continued to heal my injuries. Naruto was getting slightly fidgety remaining in place, watching in silence as I was being healed. Tension only continued to mount until twenty minutes later when Ryuuji canceled his jutsu, and wiped sweat off of his forehead.

_"Good as slightly used. Not my best in-field patch job, but it will do long enough until a real medic gets a look at you." _I chuckled and winced slightly. Ryuuji continued._ "I'm going to relay a message to Hokage-sama. You two obviously have a lot to talk about." _He pocketed his bottle of soldier pills, then he formed the handseals for a shunshin and vanished in a swirl of leaves just as the sun was beginning to shine. The light shining through the trees was actually quite breathtaking. So I decided now was as good a time as any to reward Naruto for showing me what it truly means to be a Konoha ninja.

_"Hey Naruto close your eyes." _Naruto closed his eyes and I slowly got up and walked over to him. I removed my Hitate from my forehead and placed it over his after removing those weird goggles. _"You can open your eyes now." _As soon as I said it, he reached up and touched the Konoha symbol on 'his' new Hitate. _"Congratulations Naruto You graduate." _One of the perks of being an academy instructor was that I had the authority to make decisions like this one. The other perk was seeing Naruto's eyes well up with tears of joy before he hugged me in a flying tackle. I fell over and returned the embrace. While I could tell him some of the horror stories involved with being a shinobi, I decided 'why ruin the moment'. I could always tell him later over a bowl of ramen.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Ryuuji)

Two hours had passed since I left Uzumaki and Iruka in the forest. Iruka had been transported to the hospital Uzumaki had refused to leave his side. I observed this through Hokage-sama's scrying ball. I had already given Hokage-sama my report. I was beginning to understand why he hates paperwork so much.

_"Ryuuji your actions when confronting Mizuki were unorthodox to say the least. Please explain them in greater detail."_

Hokage-sama was right to question my actions. From the point of view of his scrying ball, it appeared as though I made a needlessly flashy entrance, that I recklessly exposed my back to the enemy, and allowed an academy student to confront his chunin instructor. _"While I could have appeared out of visual range and stealthily incapacitated Mizuki. I knew I wouldn't have been able to stop him from attacking Iruka and Uzumaki in time. My technique distracted him, obscured his line of sight, allowing me to conceal a jutsu. I also was placed between him and his intended targets should he launch an attack." _

Hokage-sama nodded and I continued. _"While I did expose my back to Mizuki. I accomplished two things when I did. First I was able to secretly signal my intentions to Uzumaki and Iruka. The second thing was to draw out Mizuki's ranged weapon. While I could easily dispatch Mizuki in one on one combat, there was always the chance he could throw his shuriken and hit either Uzumaki or Iruka. So I had the re-summoned crow I concealed with my entrance keep an eye on Mizuki, and alert me when he made any motion to attack. When he did, I channelled wind chakra through my blade and rendered his weapon useless." _

Hokage-sama seemed satisfied with that part of my explanation yet he gave me a hard look. _"That still doesn't explain why you allowed Naruto to confront Mizuki." _

Truthfully I didn't have a tactical reason for suggesting that to the kid. I had an even better reason. _"Uzumaki has been lied to his whole life. He has been neglected, shunned, and shooe'd away whenever he made any attempt at human contact. What Mizuki did by getting that kid to trust him, only to use him like a tool was beyond disgusting. I gave Uzuma..no I gave 'Naruto' the chance to prove to himself that he wasn't what Mizuki said he was. There's no telling what kind of damage Mizuki could have inflicted to his psyche. All I did was make sure that the kid wouldn't get hurt. If Mizuki tried to fight back for even a second I would have intervened." _

The Hokage's expression was still hardened. _"Professionally I can't condone what you did." _Then he smiled. _"Personally, you did the right thing." _His next reaction was comical to say the least. He was pretending he had Alzheimer's._ "Oh and it appears as though I have misplaced your report. I must be getting forgetful in my old age. Now tell me again, how did Naruto slip past you and confront Mizuki?" _

So I gave Hokage-sama my report 'again'. This time Naruto 'slipped past me' while I was making sure the shuriken I sliced in half didn't hit Iruka by mistake.

We went over that report for hours making sure it was airtight in case anyone tried to look for discrepancies. When I left the Hokage's office I was forced to 'walk' home because I was exhausted.

In case you forgot I have been using shinshin all day, I created a shadow clone to talk with Iruka, I used an original jutsu that combines kage bunshin with a kuchiyose, I used another original jutsu that links my senses to my summons, I used an original long distance shunshin, I re-summoned another crow, then I used wind element chakra to slice a giant shuriken in half. I was forced to take a soldier pill in order to patch Iruka up. You add all that up and you get one nearly chakra exhausted Gekkou Ryuuji. Naturally I passed out on my futon after locking up my apartment.

* * *

I had no Idea what time it was when I woke up. All I knew was that the sun was out, and that I reeked. Which made sense considering what happened last night, and I hadn't changed out of my uniform. So I took a quick shower and dressed up in a pair of plain black shorts, a blue shirt and a pair of blue shinobi sandals. Whether it matched, or looked good on me I could care less. Then I put on my shades and scooped up all of my dirty, non shinobi specific laundry and headed out to the laundromat on the bottom floor of the complex. I could clean up my ninja wear later. That was when I was stopped outside by a man wearing a grayish white uniform. He had a bandage across his nose. His hair was darker and spikier than mine. His name was Hagane Kotetsu. He was one of the Hokage's little henchmen as I liked to call them.

_"Yo. Ryuuji-san. Hokage-sama requests your presence."_ He said in a casual voice. He's seen men enough times at the Hokage tower.

I opened my apartment door and nonchalantly threw my laundry inside before locking it back up. He raised an eyebrow. I shrugged. _"You wouldn't be here if I could stroll into the Hokage tower at my leisure." _

_"True. But the way your dressed you might as well." _

I said nothing as we both shunshined to the hokage tower.

* * *

Once inside the tower I walked up to room Kotetsu said I should be in. It was the scrying room I filed my mission report in last night. I walked in and noticed a few familiar faces. Asuma was wearing his uniform and was leaning against the wall to my right. Kurenai was next to him wearing her usual ensemble plus her jounin vest. Another jounin sensei was my old friend Shiranui Genma wearing his uniform plus the 'chewable' senbon. The rest of the jounin were people I might have seen at one time or another. You may be wondering why I keep mentioning what the other jounin were wearing. It was t emphasize how awkward I felt dressed in civilian clothing. As evidenced by the chuckles and scowls thrown my way.

Hokage-sama cleared his throat after raising his eyebrow in my general direction. _"We are here today to decide which genin will be assigned to your cells. Shiranui Genma sensei of team one you may proceed." _

I didn't bother paying attention to the names he called out, seeing as they weren't the genin I had in mind. In fact the genin Genma had picked were clan-less, and had average grades at best. While being clan-less isn't a bad thing, it does make learning the customs that come with being a shinobi more difficult. I suspected Genma didn't exactly 'volunteer' to become a sensei. Neither did I for that matter, at least I intend to take it seriously though.

Hokage-sama continued calling out the names of genin in chronological order based on squad numbers. While I did commit the names of the genin to memory, I didn't put a whole lot of effort into rationalizing the jounin's reasons for choosing them. Especially since virtually every jounin wanted Uchiha Sasuke in their cell. Not surprising really.

_"Gekkou Ryuuji sensei of team seven." _

Hearing my name brought me out of my musings. _"I request that Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto be placed on my team." _I took note of the whispers concerning the names of the genin I had chosen.

Hokage-sama clasped his fingers together in a calculating gesture. _"I would like to hear your reason behind your peculiar choices."_

I could tell that Hokage-sama was asking me to explain myself for the benefit of the other jounin. so I did. _"I request Uchiha Sasuke due to the fact that I am on good terms with the Uchiha clan. I have worked with the Konoha Millitary Police before, and have even trained an Uchiha who shall remain nameless as a member of my reconnaissance unit." _

Hokage-sama nodded for me to continue._"I request Hyuuga Hinata because 'my' jounin sensei was a member of the Hyuuga clan. I have also trained a Hyuuga who shall also remain nameless for security reasons as a member of my reconnaissance unit." _Now was the hard part. Explaining why I wanted Uzumaki Naruto on my team. _"I request Uzumaki Naruto having witnessed first hand the effective utilization of a jounin level forbidden technique. The technique was none other than 'Kage Bunshin no-jutsu.' I have both learned and mastered most variants of this technique. I believe I could help Naruto to use this technique to it's fullest extent." _

Hokage-sama gave me a knowing smile. He also directed that same smile to Asuma and Kurenai. He knew we put more effort into choosing our genin than the other jounin. _"Very well Gekkou Ryuuji. I approve of your nominations." _Then he turned his eyes to Kurenai. _"Yuhi Kurenai sensei of team eight, you may proceed." _

_"I request Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba to be placed on my team." _

Nobody seemed to have any objections to her nominations. They would if they did the research on the genin ahead of time like we did. Kurenai intended to build a scouting and tracking team. Haruno would provide genjutsu as cover, Aburame and Inuzuka would track down and pursue. A good combination. Next was Asuma's turn despite the fact he was sensei of team ten. Team nine was still currently in rotation.

_"Sarutobi Asuma of team ten."_

Asuma cleared his throat from having remained silent and without a cigarette. _"I request Yamanako Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji." _

_"Very well." _Hokage-sama said approvingly, before continuing. _"We will reconvene tomorrow at ten o'clock in the morning. The you will administer the final test to determine whether of not your genin are ready to join the ranks of Konoha shinobi. You are all dismissed."_

Asuma, Kurenai, and I disappeared in a cloud of smoke simultaneously. We going to our favorite barbecue restaurant to discuss how were going to test our genin, and future combined team training exercises should our teams pass. I was already looking forward to good quality barbecue after the night I had.

_

* * *

_

**Explanations**

**1.) Original jutsu**_  
_

_Kuchiyose: Kokoro no-jutsu. _**It's a jutsu that summons the consciousness of the intended animal in the body of a shadow clone, The body is made from the left over chakra in the summoning smoke. ****The jutsu's primary function is for reconnaissance purposes. The advantage to a summon having it's conciousness transfered into a clone body is the fact that if it is destroyed, the summon won't die. The summons mind will be sent back to it's own body. The summon's body takes on all of the characteristics of a shadow clone however.**

_Goukan Renkei no-jutsu. _**This is the jutsu that connects the users senses to a summoned animal. It uses the users own chakra as the connection, which is why the summoned animal has to made of the users chakra. ****While the user's senses are connected to a summon animal, the user can sense anything the animal senses as though the user were there. ****This jutsu also allows the user to transmit orders to all summon animals it is linked to, telepathically. The weakness of this jutsu is the fact that the user has to remain stationary for it to work, making unusable in battle.**

_Kuchiyose: Kuro Shunshin. _**This jutsu is a combination of a reverse summoning and the shunshin no jutsu. It allows the user to transport himself long distances using his chakra based summons as a medium. In order for the jutsu to work, the user has to have their senses connected to their summons**** to act as a homing beacon. This jutsu allows the user to 'teleport' anywhere the summons are. The weaknesses of the jutsu are the fact that the user has to use 'Goukan Renkei no-jutsu' for it to even work. The user also has to wait for the summons to converge on one singular location. This jutsu is also unusable in battle.**

**2.) Before writing off Ryuuji as a Mary Sue. Keep in mind that he's the same age as Asuma and Kurenai, a jounin, and a Anbu captain. While he is a skilled shinobi he won't be beating ninja's like Itachi, Orochimaru, or any of the 'big league badies' in Akatsuki. While he did make Mizuki look like a joke, lets face it compared to Kakashi, Gai, or any non-chunin Mizuki 'is' a joke. He was the first victim of Naruto's 'Kage Bunshin Clobbering.'**

**3.) Next chapter Ryuuji will be testing his genin. He won't be using the bell test. I have something more devious in mind.  
**


	4. No See, No Hear, No Speak

From ANBU to Sensei

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other form of Media.

**Things to know before reading. **

**1.) How to read this fic. (No I'm not insulting your intelligence level. I'm just giving a template for easier reading.)  
**

Normal writing.

_"Character speaking."_

_Flashback -Start / Flashback -End_

**"Dramatic speaking" **(used for strong emotion, or a Bijuu/Summon talking.)

_**POV **_(point of view change notice, followed by the character's name.)

* * *

_"Sasuke-chan wake up." _

I groaned in protest as I slowly rose out of my futon. I rubbed my eyes quickly so I could adjust my vision to the light. I looked up and saw the irritated face of my mother Uchiha Mikoto. I sighed thinking back on what made me so exhausted last night that I couldn't wake up myself. I was trying to perfect an old jutsu 'He' used to practice. If you must know, I refuse to use my older brother's name, even in my own head. 'He' doesn't deserve to exist after what he did to our clan_, _so I won't give him the luxury of having a name. People who cease to have a name, cease to exist. I intend to make that happen.

That's when Mother smacked me over the back of my head. _"Sasuke you can brood later, shower up and get your 'Rookie of the year' ass out that door."_

Despite the fact that she was ordering me around. I knew Mother was only trying to break the usual silence that hovers over our house. While life hasn't been easy for any of the 'Uchiha Survivors', Mother was doing a good job as the Head of our clan. She started by reinstating the Konoha Millitary Police, which is now comprised of the remainder of our clan, and a few 'side branch' members of the Hyuuga clan. Criminals cower in fear when your police force contains two of the most renown doujutsu looking for them. Now it was my turn to contribute to the clan. So I _'_showered up', and threw on a new set of clothes I ordered at our clans retailer. The ensemble consisted of a blue high collar shirt with the Uchiha-clan symbol on the back, a pair of white shorts with various hidden pockets, a pair of white and blue arm warmers, and finally a pair of the highest quality shinobi sandals Konoha could produce. Today I become a ninja. Tomorrow I take the first step towards my goal, 'Revenge.'

_"Don't forget your lunch Sasuke-chan."_ Ka-san called out from the kitchen.

My left eyebrow suddenly started twitching. It's official, mother has a 'Brooding Radar'. Yet I find myself smiling as I'm walking towards the kitchen to pick up my lunch. _"See you later Mother." _I said quietly before walking out the door of our house with my lunch in hand, and heading towards the ninja academy.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Hinata)

I started pressing my fingers together. It's an old habit I've had since my mother passed away. She was my source of strength. Without her around, Father has been trying in anyway he can to get me past my failures. In my clan failure is not tolerated. Failure is seen as a weakness the Hyuuga cannot afford. That's why I try hard to be the best I can, but it still isn't enough. I look in the mirror of the girls restroom at the Academy in a vain effort to see if I can find any trace of failure. All I see in-front of me is a twelve year old girl with raven colored hair down to her chin, and lavender eyes. She's wearing a grayish white coat, a bluish purple shirt and pants, and blue sandals. Her name is Hinata-chan. She's not concerned about failure, because she's trapped behind the glass.

Some days I wish I could be Hinata-chan, instead of Hyuuga Hinata. But that would be too much like giving up. I won't give up, because Naruto-kun wouldn't give up. Naruto-kun never allows anyone to see how sad he is, and he refuses to allow defeat to keep him from getting back up. Today I will be like Naruto-kun. I will be Hyuuga Hinata, and today Hyuuga Hinata becomes a ninja. That's when I see Hinata-chan nodding at me in the mirror, she agrees with me. I wave goodbye to Hinata-chan for now and leave the restroom.

I enter my classroom and make my way to one of the higher seats that's somewhat out of sight, but close enough to the door.

_"Morning Hinata."_ Said one of my classmates, a boy wearing plain civilian clothes, and a Hitate on his forehead. I don't remember his name. I try to keep quiet so I don't stutter as I speak.

_"G..Good m..morning." _I stutter out a reply hoping he won't notice that I didn't remember his name, or my failure to speak correctly. I sat in silence waiting for Naruto-kun to come in. Even though we never talk, he's the only one who knows the pain of being looked down upon.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Naruto)

_"CRAP I'm going to be late." _I quickly threw on my favorite Orange suit, and sandals. Then I scarfed a pre-heated ramen pack, which I washed down with funny tasting milk. I didn't bother fixing my hair, It's always a spiky mess. Lastly, I proudly secured my Hitate to my forehead. Today I'm a ninja, maybe tomorrow I'll be Hokage. I grinned at that thought as I left my messy apartment and jumped up on top of the rooftops, bounding from building to building. I looked down a few times at the height of a leap to see if anyone noticed me. A few people were scowling, a few people were chuckling for some reason. That's when I noticed a chunin patrol gaining on me.

_"Naruto cease what your doing immediately." _Shouted the chunin at the front of the three man formation.

_"But I haven't done anything yet_._" _I yelled back to them, seriously this time I'm innocent. So I continued my leap picking up my pace hoping to lose my chunin tail.

_"Only licensed shinobi are allowed to use the rooftops as transportation." _The lead chunin shouted.

This time I twisted around to face them mid leap and pointed at my Hitate. _"I am a shinobi."_ I yelled loudly. Then I saw the looks on their faces, they were wincing. I turned around to see what would make them wince at me like that. (Thud) I had leaped right into a telephone pole. I fell to the ground and stars crossed my vision, then I began twitching in short spasms of pain.

_"Should we take him to the hospital?" _I heard the lead chunin say in between my spastic twitches. 'HOSPITAL' oh HELL NO. I immediately righted myself and leaped to the rooftops again surprising the chunin. I resumed my earlier pace and headed for the Academy.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Iruka)

I sighed as I sat behind my desk. All of the other students were here, where's Naruto? Probably in some kind of trouble no doubt. No sooner than I thought it an orange blur crashed into the door. Some of the students were trying, and failing to suppress various giggle, chuckles, laughs and what-not. I sighed as Naruto walked in the door rubbing his head.

_"Sorry Iruka-sensei I forgot that the janitor cleans the floors in the morning." _

I looked over to Naruto and raised my right eyebrow. I'm pretty sure the janitor left a sign somewhere. If anything Naruto tried skidding through the hallways 'again'. _"Just take your seat, Naruto." _

I waited until Naruto took a seat in the row directly infront of me and pouted. I chuckled and picked up a clipboard. _"Now that everyone is here. I'm going to read off the names of the teams in squad order followed by genin, and the name of your sensei's. Squad One: Yasutora Sado, Inoue Orihime, Uryu Ishida. Your sensei is Shiranui Genma." _

_

* * *

_

_**POV - **_(Naruto)

When is Iruka-sensei going to say my team. I want to be on Sakura-chan's team. She's so smart, and pretty. I just don't want to on Sasuke-teme's team. He thinks he's so cool, the jerk. I turn my head so I can glare at the pompous jerk. The teme scoffs at me as though I'm a piece of dust. I'll show him who's a piece of dust, by grinding him 'into' dust.

_"Squad Seven: Uzumaki Naruto." _

I look up at Iruka-sensei waiting for the next name. I hope it's Sakura-chan.

_"Hyuuga Hinata." _

Hinata huh. I look around seeing if I can see her. That's when I heard the last name.

_"Uchiha Sasuke. Your sensei will be Gekkou Ryuuji." _

_"WHAT." _I didn't bother acknowledging the name of my sensei. The only name I heard had me really angry. So I stood up and slammed my palms on my desk. _"Why is a talented ninja like 'me' on a team with 'him'." _I turned around and pointed at Sasuke-teme.

Iruka groaned, clearly annoyed at me. _"Because it is common practice that the Best student be placed with the worst one to balance out the teams 'Naruto'." _

I sulked as I sat back down.

_"Just don't get in my way, Dobe." _

I seethed at the teme's words.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Hinata)

I'm going to be on Naruto-kun's team. I'm going to be on Naruto-kun's team. I was so shocked that I barely heard the names of the next teams.

_"Now that the teams Have been announced, you will wait for your sensei's to pick you up." _Iruka-sensei said before leaving the room._  
_

I looked around and saw some of the other genin gather in groups based on their teams. So I headed to where Naruto-kun was sitting. That's when I saw him crouched in front of Sasuke, sitting on the desk. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the person in the row directly in front of Sasuke leaning back. Without thinking I ran forward and grabbed Naruto-kun's arm and pulled him to me, the momentum from the pull caused him to fall on top of me._ "N..Naruto-kun, y..your hand." _I tried to finish the sentence before all the blood rushed from my face and I fainted.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Naruto)

I look around me trying to figure out why Hinata pulled me down. That's when I felt some form of soft object under my right hand. I looked down and saw my hand on Hinata's chest...OH CRAP. That's when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I quickly jumped up to a standing position, that's when I was clobbered from all sides by angry females. I barely remember hearing Sakura-chan yelling_ "How dare you try and take advantage of Hinata?"_ before I was knocked unconscious.

When I regained conciousness I noticed all of the other genin except for Hinata (who was still unconscious), and the Teme were gone.

_"Seriously Dobe, could you try to act like you have a little class_." Sasuke said before turning away.

I was about to yell at him when I saw the man who saved me and Iruka-sensei from Mizuki. He was wearing the same clothes he did that night, except his sword was missing.

_"Do I even want to know what happened here?" _The man said as he surveyed the damage the angry kunoichi inflicted to the area aroud me.

Sasuke scowled. _"The Dobe..(He points at me)..Felt up our teammate."_

_"I did NOT FEEL HINATA UP, SASUKE-TEME!" _

_"Fine,Whatever." _The man said although I could see he was trying not to laugh at me. He kneeled over Hinata and took a jar out of one of his pockets and opened it under Hinata's nose. She woke up with a dazed expression before she started blushing at me.

_"Now that everyone is awake, follow me up to the roof. If you haven't guessed already...I'm your guy's sensei." _The man said before dissapearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Five long flights of stairs later and we were all sitting on the roof of the academy. 'Sensei' was leaning with his back to the railing snacking from a glass container of peanuts.

_"Since we are going to be working together for quite some time, I believe introductions are in order. I'll go first to show you guys how it's done." _The man cleared his throat before continuing._ "My name is Gekkou Ryuuji. I like eating un-salted peanuts, the Icha Icha novels written by Jiraiya-sama, studying chakra, my friends and family, and drinking on days off. I dislike politics, hospitals, vegetarian foods, and hypocracy. My goals for the future include living to see old age, and maybe starting my own ninja program at the academy."_

This guy is weird, who's goal in life is to see old age. I'll tell him what a 'real' ninja's goals are. _"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Instant ramen, the ramen Iruka-sensei buys me at Ichiraku's, and gardening. I dislike the three minutes it takes for the water to boil, and Sasuke-teme's gloating. My goal for the future is to become the GREATEST HOKAGE WHO EVER LIVED. Then everyone will have to respect me."_

_"Interesting goal you have kid." _Ryuuji said with a smile. Hinata blushed at me, while Sasuke-teme didn't have any reaction at all. At least I got some people to acknowledge me.

_"Hinata why don't you go next?" _Ryuuji offered with a gesture of his hand.

_"My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I..I like flowers, m..my family, f..flowers, a..and a certain someone. I d..dislike being too weak. M..my goal is to become a b..better kunoichi." _

_"I don't think your're weak at all. You wouldn't be here if you were." _

I nodded at Ryuuji-sensei's words. He had a point.

_"Your turn Sasuke."_

Sasuke-teme shifted his position and rested his chin on his fingers. _"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like very few things. I dislike many things. My 'ambition' is to become useful to my clan, and to kill a certain 'Someone.' "_

I shivered at his words. I hope he didn't mean me. Hinata fidgeted with her fingers, while Ryuuji-sensei sighed and somehow flicked a peanut so fast it hit Sasuke in the forehead and left a red mark. I fell over laughing.

_"First thing I want you guys to know. There will be no withholding of information, unless it is of an extremely sensitive nature. So Sasuke tell us 'more' about some of your likes and dislikes please." _Ryuuji-sensei said with a forced smile._  
_

Sasuke groaned. _"I like training, Taking walks, and sour foods like okaka and omusubi. I dislike fangirls, anything sweet tasting, and many other things." _

Ryuuji smirked. _"Now that we know each other, I'm going to cut to the chase. Normally a jounin will test their genin on teamwork and decide whether or not to send them back to academy_._"_

_"WHAT." _(flick) _"Ouch." _I rubbed my head and saw the remains of the peanut that struck me on my forehead.

_"If you plan on becoming Hokage you better get used to listening, and waiting for others to finish speaking before objecting to what they have to say. If you interrupt and annoy the one speaking, you could miss out on valuable information. Now will you let me finish speaking?"_

I growled before nodding. Seriously that peanut flicker jutsu hurts.

_"As I was saying_. _I won't be testing your teamwork because that's the kind of thing that either develops over time or doesn't happen at all. While teamwork is the backbone of our village, it means nothing if nobody understands 'why'. So I will be testing you three on something else entirely. I expect you three to be awake and at training ground sixty four at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. You're dismissed."_

I couldn't wait to tell Iruka-sensei about Ryuuji-sensei's test. Maybe he might have Idea about it. So I headed straight for Ichiraku's.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Ryuuji)

I waited for my genin to leave before I shunshine'd away. I reappeared in front of my brother's apartment, and knocked on the door. Hayate opened the door and smirked he was dressed in typical jounin attire. Which means he was either on a mission or something else equally as administrative.

_"For once you 'don't' appear at the (cough) worst possible time. I should commend you (cough) for it."_

_"It's not my I fault I don't keep track of when your having sex with yugao." _On that note a change of subject is in order. _"__Any word on who's going to proctor the chunin exams this year?"_

Hayate smirked._"Morino Ibiki is proctoring the first exam. Anko (cough) is proctoring the second exam. (cough) I'm proctoring the third exam. It should be interesting this year."_

I scoffed. _"I don't know what's scarier? Ibiki's mental assault, or Anko's Idea of 'fun time in the forest of death'."_

_"Ryuuji do I even want to know how you already know what their planning?"_

I sighed. _"I've worked with Ibiki before. To my knowledge he's rarely ever used physical torture. As for Anko, the forest of death is her favorite training ground. There's noway she wouldn't subject genin to unspeakably horrible things in there."_

_"Speaking of genin how are you going to (cough) test yours?"_

_"I told them I won't be testing them on teamwork. I'm going to use another test as a distraction to evalute their other skills. I'll pass them when they come to the conclusion that without teamwork they wouln't have passed."_

Hayate groaned._ "What you have planned will no doubt drive anyone insane (cough)."_

I chuckled. _"__Wouldn't be fun if I didn't. See you later." _I said before walking out the door. What...! Ninja's don't always have to use windows and jutsu for flashy exits.

* * *

It's seven fifty eight in the morning and I'm waiting for my genin to arrive. I take a quick cursory glance at my surroundings to kill time. Training ground sixty four is one of the newer training grounds on the outskirts of the village. It's heavily forested and has a few small creeks running through it. Despite the fact that it's early morning, there are noticable patches of darkness at the base of the larger trees. The foliage itself is a blend of light browns and greens of all colors, which makes this place perfect for various predators to lurk around unseen. I'm standing at the less dense section of the forested area at the end of a manmade trail.

_"Good morning Sasuke." _I said looking into a tree directly above me. While I was able to sense him, I still have to wonder how he got up there so quickly.

_"Hn." _He responded monosyllabically.

Naturally I withdrew a jar of peanuts from one of my vest pockets.

_"Good morning Sesnsei." _Sasuke said while gritting his teeth. He learns quickly.

_" morning sensei." _I heard Hinata say as she approached our training area.

I smiled back at her. _"Good morning to you too Hinata." _Then I looked back up at Sasuke. _"See Sasuke. It won't kill you to be polite."_

Sasuke was saved from having to respond by an orange blur descending from the sky and landing directly in-front of me. _"WHEN CAN THE TEST START?" _(flick) _"Ryuuji -sensei what was that for?"_

I raised an eyebrow. _"That was for trying to raise the dead with the sound of your voice. Your the only ninja I've ever met who purposefully objects to the concept of 'volume control.' "_

I could practically 'feel' Sasuke smirking from up in his tree. I was tempted to flick a peanut at him too. _"Sasuke get down. Now that were all here we can begin the test."_

Now that Sasuke had descended from his leafy perch, I decided now was as good a time as any to reveal the instruments of my test. _"In this test each of you will have one of your senses cut off from you. On the plus side, there is no time limit. However, should anyone of you fail to pass this test. Not only will you be booted back to the Academy, I will force you to wear a donkey suit and allow the village children to play 'pin the tail on the Jackass who failed.' "_

I allowed them to ponder the implications. Then I opened the other two pockets on the left side of my vest. In one hand was a blindfold, ear plugs, and a roll of tape. In the other were three bells._ "Sasuke since you are this years rookie, you get the honor of being blinded." _I approached Sasuke and wrapped the blindfold over his eyes. Then I placed the other items at my feet, so I could string together a set of handseals. I tapped the blindfold and a string of kanji ran across it. _"Just so you guys know, each of these Items will have an anti removal seal on them. Unless you know Fuuinjutsu, good luck taking them off. Naruto your next." _

_"Sense you haven't even told us how to pass this test. Yet you're already making it so we will fail right away."_

I smirked. _"You're right. However you should keep in mind that a ninja test was never meant to be easy. Oh and you get these." _I placed the ear plugs in each of his ears then I repeated the same sealing jutsu._ "And for you Hinata. You will be the one who can't speak. Believe me when I say I was tempted to cover Naruto's mouth with tape instead of yours." _

Naruto looked around obliviously wondering what I said to make Sasuke snicker, and Hinata giggle. I formed a half ram seal so that the jutsu on Naruto's ear would deactivate. Then I picked up the bells I took out earlier. _"It shouldn't take a genius to figure out what the bells are for, or why there's three of them. I will reactivate the sensory deprivation seals once you guys have gotten a good ways into the forest. Oh and don't forget the golden rule of being a ninja, it would be embarassing if you guys forgot. That being said the test starts NOW." _

The genin suddenly vanished, except for Naruto. _"I figured you out Ryuuji-sensei. If I stay out here you can't activate the seal. You'll have to fight me one on one." _

I sighed. The tricky little jerk had a point. Unfortunately for him I can be tricky too. _"Then if you want to pass you'll have to chase me into the forest." _I immediately leaped into the nearest tree and bounded from tree top to tree an irritated Naruto in my wake.

* * *

_**POV **_- (Sasuke)

I leaped through the trees on the lowest branches that could support my weight. There's no telling exactly when my eyesight will be sealed away and I miss a jump. I began trying to think of Ideas on how I would get a bell. It wasn't until I spotted a small clearing that I began to formulate an Idea. I quickly landed and began scouting out the surrounding area. Then I pulled out a roll of ninja wire and got to work.

* * *

_**POV **_- (Naruto)

Crap I though I had Sensei figured out. Now I have no idea where I am in this forest. I must have been chasing him for at least an hour. I see a bunch of trees, more trees, bushes, and more trees. How am I supposed to find Sensei in all of this? It's not like I can be in... That's it. I grinned as I formed the cross shaped seal. _"Kage Bunshin no jutsu." _Ten copies of me appeared out of a cloud of smoke.

_"Listen up other me's spread out and..." _Those jerks weren't even listening. They clearly saw me talking and...OH Crap Sensei must have activated the seal. I guess whatever seal he put on me is on them too. I ran over to each clone and tapped them on the shoulder. Once I had their attention I pointed to my eyes then around me, they must have gotten the idea because they went in different directions.

* * *

_**POV **_- (Hinata)

I looked for a secluded spot so I could be safely hidden from view. I found a wall of roots from a partially uprooted tree big enough to hide me, but small enough to keep others out. Then I formed the Handseals for my clan's kekkei genkei. My vision changed from color to black and white, but spread out in different directions. I could see Naruto-kun forming a strange seal then ten more of him suddenly appeared. I didn't know he had such an amazing jutsu.

I turned my head to left and saw Sasuke sitting in a crouched position in a clearing. He tensed as though he were ready to react to the slightest movement. There were lines all around him, probably ninja wire.

Ryuuji-sensei looked like he was searching for a specific location. I began to wonder why he chose me to be the one who couldn't speak. I could understand him taking away Sasuke's eyes so he can't fight, and the blindfold wouldn't work on my Byakugan. Naruto-kun's loss of hearing prevent's him from communicating with his clones. But Ryuuji would have to...Then I understood why Ryuuji-sensei took away my speech when I saw him make the same seal as Naruto-kun. Three more Ryuuji-sensei's appeared and took off in different directions. He must have known about our abilities before the test. He knew I would figure out what he was doing. Even though I wanted to go after Naruto-kun, Sasuke wouldn't see Ryuuji-sensei coming. So I channelled chakra to my feet and leaped up into the trees.

* * *

_**POV **- _(Ryuuji)

This should be fun. I thought to myself as I headed to where Sasuke was. Sometimes it's good to be a sensor.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**1.) Sorry about the cliffy in the middle of the test, but the anime did the same thing to us. **

**2.) Next chapter will wrap up the test. **

**3.) There will of course be some unique surprises. **

**4.) I hope you enjoyed the insight into the minds of the genin.  
**


	5. Bunshins, bells, and balls of fire

From ANBU to Sensei

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other form of Media.

**Things to know before reading. **

**1.) How to read this fic. (No I'm not insulting your intelligence level. I'm just giving a template for easier reading.)  
**

Normal writing.

_"Character speaking."_

_Flashback -Start / Flashback -End_

**"Dramatic speaking" **(used for strong emotion, or a Bijuu/Summon talking.)

_**POV **_(point of view change notice, followed by the character's name.)

* * *

I've been sitting here in this clearing for who knows how long. The seal on the blindfold prevents me from taking it off, because of that I don't even know the time of day. My only hope for passing this test is to gain some sort of leverage over Ryuuji. Getting leverage on any jounin wouldn't be easy, not to mention without my eyes my combat ability is cut in half at best. That's why I set up a series of traps before he activated the sealing jutsu. I dodged to the right just as a breeze went past me.

_"Nice move Sasuke. Think you can block this one?"_

This time I jumped up into a tree I knew was directly behind me. That's when I took out a shuriken and threw it directly infront of me, it cut one of the wires I set and a salvo of shuriken were launched in the direction I assumed Ryuuji to be. I listened for the sound of metal making contact and I leaped from my tree and aimed a downwards kick at where I estimated Ryuui's head to be. I felt an arm block my kick, and I used the momentum to flip and land in a crouch.

_"Using traps to pinpoint my location without the use of you're eyesight, I can honestly say I'm impressed. It still won't be enough to get a bell though."_

I scowled at Ryuuji's words, he was right though. If I didn't find someway to locate the bells without seeing, there isn't a chance I was going to pass this test.

(Pop) I heard a small explosion of some kind. Even though I couldn't see, I still looked around for whatever caused it. That's when the bandage over my eyes fell away and I could see again. I looked over and saw Hinata panting_. _She still had the sealed tape over her mouth. I wondered how she made Ryuuji go away._ "Hinata did you defeat Ryuuji?"_

Instead of answering, Hinata formed the hand seals for the clone jutsu. A second Hinata appeared in front of her, then Hinata struck her clone in the back with a palm strike causing it to fade away.

_"So You dispelled a clone of some kind. Whatever clone it was it wasn't normal. Whatever you did to the clone canceled the seal on the blindfold."_ As much as I hate to admit it, Hinata's intervention probably saved me from failing this test. While I would rather pass this test on my own, that simply isn't going to happen. Training with the Konoha Millitary Police has taught me that teamwork has it's uses sometimes. Good luck getting me to admit it though. _"Were you able to help the dobe?"_

Hunata shook her head 'no'.

That's when it hit me. _"Hinata I think we both fell for a trap. The Dobe is out there by himself and unable to hear Ryuuji coming. He wanted to separate us."_

Hinata pointed to her eyes, signaling that she would lead the way with her Byakugan before leaping into the trees. I followed after her wondering why she is taking initiative now, rather than when she was back at the academy. The only explanation I could come up with is the possibility that she has something to prove to somebody.

* * *

_**POV**_ - (Naruto)

Where could Ryuuji- sensei be? I thought my trick would work. I guess Ryuuji- sensei is tricky too. If only I knew some sign language then I could understand what my clone is trying to yell at me about. That's when a small object hit me on the back of my head.

_"Ow."_ I turned around and felt my eyebrow twitching as I saw a peanut on the ground. Ryuuji- sensei is going to pay for that one.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Hinata)

I kept my Byakugan active searching for any trace of Naruto-kun. I eventually found him yelling at a clone in a clearing. Ryuuji-sensei was in a tree above him quietly giggling to himself, the bells were on his waist swaying back and forth. I signaled to Sasuke to stop.

_"Did you find the dobe?" _He asked impatiently._  
_

I nodded to him and pointed in the direction of the underbrush where Naruto-kun was located.

_"Were going to need a plan if were going to get the Dobe out of there. So listen closely."_

_

* * *

_

**_POV_ - **(Ryuuji)**  
**

I continued to pester Naruto with my peanut flicker jutsu. It was only a matter of time until..., I craned my head to the left and a shuriken embedded itself next to my face in the tree I was 'sniping' from. If I wasn't expecting it, that shuriken would probably be embedded in my carotid artery. I have to admit that Sasuke has real talent with throwing weapons. So I leaped out of the tree and returned fire with my own shuriken, it met another shuriken mid flight and ricocheted off to the side.

_"So Sasuke what do you say to a little one on one?" _I said tauntingly looking around in the general direction of the thrown weapon.

Sasuke stepped out from behind a tree with a detached look on his face. _"Hn." _

Naruto started glaring at him. _"Teme! I don't need your help."_

The 'teme' ignored Naruto and charged straight at me and leaped into a spin kick._  
_

I blocked the kick with my left arm and angled a punch towards his right shoulder joint. He caught my wrist and used it as leverage to aim another kick at my head. I caught his leg with my other hand and flung him in the air behind me, he landed in a crouch. Then I noticed a weird gleaming object extending from his clenched fist. The object was thin and...Great! he wrapped me up in ninja wire. I chanelled a little wind chakra into my hand and sliced the wire, it promptly fell off of me. If it weren't for the fact that I specifically trained myself to use my chakra to a pinpoint degree I would have severed my own hand off.

_"Holy crap!" _I blurted out as I ducked backwards and to the right as a small feminine palm passed by where my head was. I kept my eyes on Hinata as she landed in the undergrowth of a large tree off to Sasuke's left. That was friggin close. I might have to start taking these genin more seriously. I looked back over to Sasuke and saw him taking a deep breath while his hands were forming the Tiger seal. Hah! a genin having enough chakra for a C-rank Katon Jutsu is just ridi... I stared in shock as a hippopotamus sized fireball soared through the air and collided into me...

* * *

_**POV - **_(Ryuuji - Original)

I shivered as I recalled my clone's last few moments. I'm glad I'm not stupid enough to underestimate these genin, oh and knowing how to do kage bunshin no jutsu. Even though my clones aren't fighting them their hardest or using any jutsu, I still created them to be low chuunin in physical ability. The fact that these genin are fighting back is quite impressive.

_"That settles it. I'm going in myself." _I said before leaping out of the tree I was in and heading for my future student's location.

* * *

_**POV - **_(Naruto)

_"Haha. I can finally hear again." _I shouted as I pulled the earplugs out.

_"Now that the Dobe can hear again we should come up with a new plan." _Sasuke said uncaringly._  
_

I was tempted to clobber the Teme but he had a point. _"Should I let my clones in on this or just get rid of em?"_

Sasuke gave me a curious look. _"When did you learn Bunshin- no jutsu?"_

_"Not Bunshin, 'Kage Bunshin.' I learned it not too long ago. My clones are solid." _I corrected him smugly.

Sasuke scoffed_. "Dispel them for now. It would be bad if Ryuuji could track them back to us somehow. Hinata if you have any ideas write them in the ground."_

_

* * *

_

**POV - **(Ryuuji)

I leaped out of a tree and into a small clearing where I knew my future students previously occupied. There wasn't even a single woodland animal within fifty feet of me, and the small patch of dirt infront of me had been disturbed and leveled over. I wonder what kind of trap they have set for me? My question was about to be answered.

_"Hooah!" _Several copies of Naruto leaped out of various hiding places and charged right at me.

_"You have a Jounin level jutsu at your disposal and 'this' is what you do with it." _I goaded the Naruto's as they attempted to punch, kick, and shout out obscenities. I caught one and threw it at another causing them to dispel each other. _"It's like I'm a bug-zapper and your clones are the poor bugs dumb enough to get close." _

_"Oh YEAH, WHOSE DUMB NOW?" _An enraged Naruto leaped out of a bush and landed in a 'heroic' pose before throwing shuriken at me.

I merely craned my neck to avoid both projectiles, then I noticed the wires around them. _"Not this again." _

The two 'shuriken' exploded into smoke and two grinning Naruto's proceeded to bind me in the wire. The 'Naruto' who threw the wire exploded into smoke and a smirking Sasuke took it's place. Sasuke formed a recognizable set of handseals while biting down on the other end of the wire. _"What are the academy Instructor's teaching kids these days?" _

Instead of answering, Sasuke took a deep breath. I knew what was coming next, which is why I smirked when I noticed my last clone leap out of it's hiding place and slice the wire with a wind charged kunai. This kid is something else, I thought to myself as I watched my clone intercept an elephant-sized gout of fire shaped like a dragon's mouth. I quickly shunshin'ed into a tree just outside the blast radius. To think that an academy student knew 'katon ryuuka - no jutsu.'

_"Sasuke don't you think your'e going a LITTLE TOO FAR." _Said an incensed Naruto who jumped into the clearing, pointing at the scorch marks where his clones were previously holding me.

I leaped out of the tree and landed next to Naruto, startling him into falling on his rump. _"How do you think I feel? I'm the one he wanted to 'saute' with his fiery breath!"_

Sasuke stepped back and pulled out a kunai, readying himself. _"Don't act stupid Ryuuji. We knew you would dodge that jutsu. And don't think we're going to fall for whatever trap you're preparing."_

I closed my eyes and began channeling chakra into my forehead, activating my 'Kagura Shingan'. My 'eye sight' changed into a panoramic, black and white version of my normal vision. I saw Hinata perched in a tree opposite of where I emerged from my shunshin, more accurately I saw her chakra outline, along with the dominant blue, her chakra had an unsurprisingly lavender tint to it. Chakra color's aside I'd have to say that their little plan was a clever one, simply put they were counting on me to use 'Kawarimi' and had Hinata prepared to take me out with her 'Jyuuken'. I smirked as I deactivated my 'Kagura Shingan' and opened my eyes again (Ps. Sunglasses come in handy when you don't want people to see what you're doing with your eyes closed.)

_"Why are you smirking?" _Sasuke asked cautiously.

_"Hinata you can come out of that tree now. The test is over." _I yelled looking directly at the tree she was perched in and deactivated the seal on her mouth, and the tape fell off of her face. Hinata immediately leaped out and landed next to Sasuke.

_"What do you mean the test is over, we don't have any bells. I can still see them on your waist." _Sasuke asked narrowing his eyes.

_"Yeah the Teme is right."_ Naruto added.

I cleared my throat. _"Getting the bells was merely a distraction. The real test was getting you three to work together. However, before I pass you three and truly take you on as my students, I want you to answer one question..."_

_"What question?" _Naruto asked eagerly.

I flicked a peanut at him, causing him to glare at me. _"I'll just ask you guys the question before Naruto can ruin my mysterious atmosphere again. The question is, 'What is the golden rule of being a shinobi'?" _

_

* * *

_

**_POV_** - (Hinata)

I thought about the preparations Ryuuji-sensei made before the test. Everything he did to take away our senses 'appeared' as though it were to prevent us from getting a bell. I looked over to Naruto-kun who's face was scrunched up in concentration. Seeing him like made me nearly giggle, so I looked over to Sasuke who had his eyes closed again as he was leaning up against a tree. Even out here in the woods, after hours of running around after bells it's like we are still in the academy. This reminds me of the time Iruka sensei had us running stealth and tracking exercises. He told us the most important thing a shinobi needs to learn is to look under neath the...

_"Man, maybe I should have paid more attention in class...HMM." _Naruto-kun groaned.

_"You'd still be a dobe, dobe."_ Sasuke said dismissively.

Ryuuji-sensei bristled his hair with his left hand. _"You guys should really spend less time chiding each other, and more time figuring out the meaning of my question."_

_"S sensei, I know the a answer to your question." _I said raising my hand to get his attention.

Ryuuji-sensei turned his head in my direction. _"Very well Hinata, what is the answer?"_

_"The g golden rule of being a shinobi. I is to look underneath the underneath." _

Ryuuji-sensei smiled. _"Correct answer. Naruto, Sasuke you two should thank Hinata. As of now we are officially team Seven."_

Sasuke nodded in my direction. I guess that's his way of 'saying' thank you without actually thanking me.

_"HINATA-CHAN YOU"RE THE GREATEST." _Naruto-kun practically bellowed as he pulled me into a tight embrace.

_"N Naruto-kun." _I whimpered out. Okay don't faint, don't faint, don't...

* * *

**_POV- _**(Ryuuji)

I sighed as I watched Hinata pass out, red faced in Naruto's arms.

_"Sensei is Hinata okay?Did I do something_?Will she wake up?"

Any other questions Naruto asked were too incoherent to understand. _"Slow down. She's going to be fine, she ugh 'overworked' herself during the exam." _I figure that if he didn't know why Hinata fainted then he's better off clueless for now.

_"Dobe, you really are an idiot." _Sasuke said with his eyes closed, still leaning against the same tree.

I wonder how Sasuke knew what was going on if his eyes were closed the whole time. _"Sasuke, you mind teaching me that cool pose of yours?" _

Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow before 'hn'ing again. Figures.

Hinata slowly regained consciousness and promptly began blushing. _"S sorry."_

I coughed loudly to keep the attention on me. _"Before we call it quits for today, I want to treat you guys to lunch."_

_

* * *

_

_"Here we are, The Famous Akimichi Barbeque." _I stated while my mouth began watering.

_"Do they serve ramen?" _Naruto asked petulantly.

I raised an eyebrow. _"No. This is a barbecue restaurant. You can eat ramen on your own time. Anyway lets go in and find a table."_

I looked around to see if the booth I usually share with Kurenai and Asuma was occupied, it wasn't. _"Over here minions." _I sat down in the seat with my back facing the wall. Sasuke sat opposite me in the other corner. Hinata sat next to Sasuke while Naruto sat next to me. _"It'll be a little while until a waitress comes to take our orders. I want to discuss where you guys could use some improvement in your skills, and what we will be doing in future training sessions. Sasuke your overall abilities are far beyond rookie genin level, quite frankly I'm impressed. While it din't take much convincing for you to work with the others as a team, you were still hesitant about it. I could tell from your overall demeanor and your body language. Even though you have trained with the Konoha Millitary Police Force, you are still used to gloing solo, and you waste too much chakra when you fight."_

Sasuke scoffed. _"I nearly caught you with my fire techniques twice."_

I smirked. _"And what happened both times you used those techniques. You winded up wasting large amounts of chakra on my 'clones'. I wasn't lying when I said that your abilities are impressive, but you could have used your jutsu more effectively. You didn't even bother trying to figure out if the person you were facing was really me. Having powerful jutsu can be a real asset, but remember that subterfuge will 'always' be a shinobi's most potent weapon."_

Even through his 'tough' exterior I could see that Sasuke was pondering on my words. _"__Naruto, out of everybody at this table you have the most chakra. The fact that you can use 'kage bunshin no jutsu' the way you do is proof of that. This also means that you are wasting the most chakra out of anybody here." _I reached for my peanut jar, promptly causing Naruto to squash the remains of what would have been a loud outburst. _"You have a lot of potential, Iruka graduated you for that very reason, don't squander your potential by protesting every little thing around you. __I'm not asking you to radically change anything about yourself or to become a super genius, but if you paid just a little more attention to what your 'kage bunshin' are capable of then you could have taken advantage of the memory transfer ability."_

_"What memory transfer ability?" _Naruto asked with a confused expression.

I rubbed my temples before looking back at him. How the hell could the kid 'not' know...oh nevermind. _"Whenever a 'kage bunshin' is dispelled manually or otherwise it transfers it's memories to the other clones and the original. You could have sent them out in scouting formations and had them dispel themselves as soon as they found me, then you and your clones would have found me based on the information from the dispersed clones. The 'kage bunshin' was originally a reconnaissance technique for that very reason."_

_"Will I be able to learn 'kage bunshin no jutsu?" _Sasuke asked with a determined glint in his eyes, Hinata nodded, agreeing with Sasuke's question.

I smirked. _"When you two become chunnin I will personally teach it to you, by then you will have the chakra reserves for it. Speaking of reserves I'm going to have to keep Naruto from going overboard with that jutsu." _I ignored Naruto's sulking and looked over to Hinata. _"Hinata you accomplished the most out of the three of you. You were the only one to figure out the meaning behind the test, you didn't hesitate in the slightest to assist your teammates. Your bigest concern right now should be to work on your resolve and assertiveness. You were the only one to get any real footing in that test, you also initated the plans you and your teammates came up with. What you didn't do was point out the flaws behind the plans. If you had spoken up you guys might have actually captured me and retrieved the bells. In any scenario where you pitch an idea to a group or appoint yourself as the leader there is a give and take relationship. You have to be assertive enough to ensure cooperation, yet receptive enough to your teammates suggestions to come up with the most effective plan and hold your team together." _

I decided to wait a little bit for them to reflect on what I've said. It wasn't until Naruto started balancing chopsticks on his nose that I felt the need to regain their attention. _"Now that we have the critiquing session out of the way I'm going to tell you three what to expect from future training sessions when were not on missions. Everyday we train together I will start off the morning with various calesthetic exercises as a warm up. Then while we are resting we can work on strategy sessions or chakra control exercises while we recover. After that we will have a series of taijutsu only sparring sessions, opponents will vary depending on how the day goes. At the end of the day I will assign you guys a mock mission. Any questions?" _

_"What about learning jutsu." _Naruto asked with an excited expression. Sasuke and Hinata both looked equally as curious.

_"If you two want to learn jutsu from me we can discuss it with your clans or gaurdians first after our first training session." "As for you Naruto we will talk it over with Iruka."_

_"Ohaiyo Minasan. My name is Makina may I take your orders now?" _Asked a young woman in her early twenties wearing a simple black uniform with a white apron. She had dark brown hair and a pleasant smile.

I returned her smile as soon as she stopped blushing in my general direction, then I turned my attention abck to my genin. "Order up guys." I tuned out the sounds of my genin placing their orders in favor of wondering how Hizashi-sensei felt whenever he treated our team to lunch.

_"Um Sir." _

I turned my attention back to our waitress. _"Oh sorry,.. I'll have an order of beef with a side of fried rice please." _I could contemplate on the past later, for now I will enjoy a nice lunch with my new students.

_

* * *

_

**Author's note:**

**1.) Next chapter will be focused on the genin's training and interactions with clan's/gaurdians. **

**2.) The action packed chapters will be on the way.**

**3.) Sorry if this update took forever. Having a night job is harsh around christmas time.**

**4.) One of the pairings will be Naru/Hina. I will try to make this one different from the others though. As for the other pairings you will have to wait and read.  
**


End file.
